Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in image rights dispute with Egyptian FA sponsor, Mido warns it could 'destroy' national team

Reem Abulleil - Reporter/Sub-editor 15:15 22/04/2018
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn

    • An image rights dispute between Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian FA’s sponsorship rights owners is being described by local media as a “crisis” with the World Cup less than two months away.

    Retired Egypt international Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido’ has warned that it is a conflict which “could destroy” the national team.

    “We are facing a serious problem with the football federation,” Salah’s lawyer and agent Ramy Abbas tweeted last week as news surfaced of issues surrounding the use of the Liverpool star’s image on the side of the official Egyptian national team airplane, along with logos of the team’s sponsors.

    One of those sponsors is Telecom Egypt which conflicts with Salah’s endorsement deal with rival company Vodafone.

    “Any unauthorised use of image rights shall be dealt with severely. All options are on the table,” said Abbas in another tweet, as the standoff continues between him and Presentation Sport, the agency that owns the sponsorship rights of the EFA for the next four years.

  • Liverpool squander two-goal lead after Mohamed Salah milestone at West Brom

    • The dispute stems from the fact that Salah’s image appears separately at the front of the plane, with other players shown towards the tail. In a TV interview, Mazen Marzouk, a former executive in the EFA, explained that the federation only has the right to use Salah’s image in a group photo of the national team but not individually.

    On Saturday, Salah tweeted a photo of himself and Abbas with the words “full support”, confirming the existence of the issue and where he stands on it.

    Former Egypt, Tottenham and Roma star Mido weighed in on the situation and said the timing of it all was problematic.

    “The problem between Salah and the sponsorship company must be handled with great intelligence and must meticulously follow the law,” tweeted Mido.

    “The timing of the problem is difficult and how do you guarantee that if the company settles with Salah that other players won’t go and ask for the same settlement? I feel for [Hany] Abu Rida [EFA president] and [Hector] Cuper [national team coach] because these are the type of problems that could destroy any team.

    “What I know is that the law allows the national football association to use the image of players collectively in a group photo that includes at least four players for advertising purposes because your country making it to the World Cup helps raise the value of a player worldwide. I could be wrong but that is as far as I know when it comes to the rights of players with their national teams.”


    Recommended